


Solidarity in Suffering

by megastarstrike



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Slow burn friendship, Strangers to Friends, kind of, mentions of other phantom thieves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 12:31:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19318237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megastarstrike/pseuds/megastarstrike
Summary: While Yusuke had known of Hifumi's existence since their first year attending Kosei High School, he only truly began to know her after they continuously locked eyes in class every time one of their classmatessaid something incredibly stupidmade a particularly outrageous claim.He still hadn't the faintest idea of how that resulted in him gaining a close confidant, but he wasn't complaining.





	Solidarity in Suffering

Kosei High School, while filled with brilliant individuals, was not known for its collective intelligence. Or in colloquial terms, some of Yusuke’s classmates were dumber than a sack of bricks.

Granted, Yusuke wasn’t a genius himself either, especially in the realm of mathematics (and he would gladly burn anyone at the stake for claiming art was just math; art was so much more). He had always been just slightly over mediocre when it came to anything other than art. He just figured his classmates would have learned that  _ no, dividing by zero does not equal zero, Nakai— _

Gray eyes met dark green. Their only similarity was the frustration swirling inside.

It seemed his thoughts were shared by another one of his classmates from a few desk columns away. Hifumi Togo, was it? The shogi player?

He didn’t have much time to think before Hifumi was called up to complete a problem on the board. She seemed to hold back a sigh before walking up and taking the chalk piece from the teacher.

Yusuke’s hold on his pencil tightened, fighting back the itch to sketch.

(He failed.)

 

* * *

“X would equal five, would it not?”

There were three terms in the equation, two of which had like variables and one being the constant. This was in no way appropriate for a high school setting, yet his classmate had somehow veered off and arrived at the answer so wrong it wasn’t even an option their teacher had posed to them.

Yusuke’s eyes flickered to the desk a few columns away from him.

Hifumi caught his stare, her eyes brimming with sympathy.

Their relationship was odd. Yusuke knew for a fact he and Hifumi weren’t the only people with more than two brain cells in the class, yet they chose to search for each other. What drew them together? Was it their shared passion for subjects deemed useless in the real world? Perhaps it was both of them being shunned by their classmates, albeit for different reasons. Maybe he was just overthinking it. Pure coincidence, while unlikely, still occurred often enough to hold some merit.

Yusuke nodded and turned back to the board.

Well, at least he had a witness to prove he wasn’t finally going insane after inhaling paint fumes all day.

 

* * *

Another day, another strange claim from a classmate.

This time, when Yusuke looked to the side, Hifumi had already looked towards him.

They nodded at each other, and that was that.

 

* * *

“Woah, who’s that?”

Yusuke resisted the urge to smack Ryuji’s finger out of the way of his pencil and settled for gently nudging him away. He didn’t want to risk smudging the portrait, after all. “One of my classmates.”

Ann and Akira sent him a curious look from across the booth. Morgana was too busy with dozing on the floor to notice.

The five met up at their usual location of the overpass at Shibuya after school while they discussed what their next moves would be. Ann hung herself from the bars, her legs tensing to support her body weight as she did so. Akira and Ryuji leaned against the wall, Ryuji’s arms formerly crossed and Akira’s hands still in his pocket. On the other hand, Yusuke had taken to gazing out the window and observing people from above. While he would usually draw a rough sketch of the area, he found his focus was diverted elsewhere.

Ryuji whistled and set his elbow on Yusuke’s shoulder. Somehow, his action dripped of both smugness and playfulness. “She’s pretty cute, not gonna lie. You got her number?”

“Is that all you think about?” Ann groaned. Her gaze refocused on Yusuke, and her lips quirked up into an encouraging smile. “Well? Tell us about her.”

Yusuke hesitated. Should he divulge this information? It wasn’t like he nor Hifumi had anything to lose; the other three attended Shujin Academy anyway. He figured there was no harm.

“Well…” Yusuke paused to draw a loop with his pencil. His mind searched for any fact that wasn’t the obvious two that everyone in Tokyo knew, but it came up blank. Disappointing, but not surprising. “Her name is Hifumi Togo. She attends my school on a shogi scholarship.”

“And?”

“That is the extent of my knowledge.”

Ryuji’s jaw dropped. “For real? That’s all you know, and you’re effin’ drawing her?”

“How could you not know your own classmate?” Ann added. She pointedly ignored the “You’re a hypocrite” look Akira sent her way.

Yusuke shrugged. “The extent of our interactions has been sending each other fleeting sympathetic glances whenever one of our other classmates makes an unfortunate error and calls attention to it.”

“... Sorry, I have no clue what you just said.”

Akira cleared his throat. “He and Togo are sharing a ‘please kill me’ look whenever one of their classmates says something dumb. And I think this is where Morgana would say something about Ryuji…”

Ryuji scoffed and crossed his arms once more. He slunk back against the bars. “Whatever. I don’t care what that weird cat says.” And with that, he swerved the conversation to something about Akira buying out every soda can from the vending machines at school, which was strange but not strange enough to keep Yusuke from continuing the portrait.

Yusuke glanced over the portrait, his pencil stopping where he had drawn her eyes. 

He was certain he didn’t portray them inaccurately; the frequency of which they locked eyes during class was too much for him to misremember a detail. So why did they shine so sadly, as if they masked a great burden? Was he projecting onto his portrait of another person? He had just recently escaped Madarame’s control, after all. But he liked to believe he wasn’t the type of artist to allow such a thing to happen.

… They hadn’t spoken a word to each other outside basic pleasantries in the year and a half they had known each other. He can’t make assumptions based on his own work.

Still, as Yusuke flipped to a blank page of his sketchbook, guilt stirring in his stomach for reasons unknown to him.

 

* * *

“Hello.”

Hifumi blinked. “Um… yes?” She paused. “No, that wasn’t the correct response, was it?”

“Any response is correct enough, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Oh.”

The two were inside a church near their school, Hifumi seated with a shogi board beside her and Yusuke standing in the aisle with a sketchbook tucked underneath his arm. The church was sparsely populated, a light murmur carried by the people inside. A gloomy atmosphere blanketed the room. Light filtered in through the colored glass panes, and fuzzy beams shined down on some objects like a spotlight. It was the perfect opportunity to practice some baroque techniques.

But that wasn’t his primary concern right now (though it did nag at the back of his head like a persistent gnat). What else was he supposed to say? Did he even have to say anything? How could he even hope to navigate the social realm as easily as the other Phantom Thieves when his only experience holding a conversation was with them and a few other artists?

But… Hifumi wasn’t the most social person either, was she? He hoped she would forgive his social missteps.

“Forgive me, I don’t mean to disturb you,” Yusuke said, bowing slightly. “I simply wished to ask you if I could sit here while I practice a few techniques.”

A puzzled expression crossed Hifumi’s face before she glanced at Yusuke’s sketchbook. “Ah, I see. Then you have no complaints from me.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

“No need to do so. We’re classmates.”

With that, they fell silent, the only sound exchanged between them being Yusuke’s pencil scratching against paper and the occasional thump of Hifumi moving a piece on the shogi board. Art consumed him, and for some time he forgot he had been sitting beside someone at all.

By the time he returned to the real world, his hand ached.

“Um…”

Yusuke turned towards Hifumi, who had packed up her shogi board and was standing up.

“I’m sorry, but would you mind moving a bit?” Hifumi said. “I have to go home.”

“Oh, my apologies.” Yusuke drew his knees up to his chest so Hifumi would pass, then set them back to their original position afterwards. His gaze returned to the drawing, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes burning into his head.

“Kitagawa.”

Yusuke looked up, only to see Hifumi’s grip on her shogi board unnaturally tight and her gaze locked onto him. Then she averted her eyes.

“... Nevermind. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Togo.”

She walked out of the church, her movements hesitant.

Yusuke turned back to his sketchbook and unlocked his phone. Had he really been drawing for that long? He hadn’t even completed the sketch…

Still, despite not holding a conversation with her, he couldn’t help but feel he had grown just a bit closer to Hifumi.

 

* * *

“Wait, bratwurst is sausage? What?”

A sheltered life often led to a sheltered mind, as Yusuke had learned the hard way. Still, he would think with all the language courses they were required to take, his classmates would know words that transcended language barriers. But apparently not.

A sigh escaped the classmate a few desks away from him.

Yusuke sighed as well and met Hifumi’s gaze. They locked eyes for a split second before focusing back on class, their pain just a tad relieved by the show of solidarity.

 

* * *

“Kitagawa.”

Yusuke looked up from his painting and offered his classmate a polite smile. “Togo. What brings you here?”

Her fingers tightened around her school bag uncomfortably. “I’m not sure. I just finished a shogi match, and… I needed somewhere to think.”

The two were the only students in the back field of Kosei High School, where the school’s peacock was known to roam around. Its caretakers had already made their rounds long ago; now was the perfect opportunity to paint the blanket of darkness that had enveloped the field, the stars poking through like tiny holes in a patchwork quilt. The cold breeze only emphasized the isolation in the fields he had hoped to capture in his painting.

Yusuke himself sat on a bench with an easel in front of him and his paints on the easel’s stand. His hands looked as if he had dipped them into paint buckets and splatters of paint made his shirt look like it had been purposely tie-dyed, but cleanliness while painting was hardly his priority. The painting, if his approximations were correct, was only about halfway done. It would take another few hours for him to capture the entire landscape.

“Would you like to sit down with me?” Yusuke asked.

Hifumi hesitated before taking a seat a foot away from him. She eyed his dirtied clothes carefully before her gaze moved to the painting and stayed.

Neither of the two being one for pointless conversation, Hifumi watched him paint in silence.

 

* * *

This time, their days were disturbed in the halls of their school as they headed to their respective hobby clubrooms.

“I don’t know,” a voice said, “You said twenty-five cents a pound, right? I could get four pounds for a dollar at the shop in Tsukishima.”

Yusuke stopped, reeling at the words. Did his ears deceive him? Did he honestly hear somebody his age say that out loud without a hint of sarcasm in their tone?

He instinctively searched the halls.

Dark green eyes met gray for a split second before separating.

Ah. Even in a different setting, they were still kindred spirits.

 

* * *

“Where do I move the bell piece?”

“They’re… They’re all shaped like bells.”

The shogi clubroom was a sad sight. Yusuke had entered on a whim in hopes he would find inspiration in the most random of places, but he was met with disappointment and the sight of his classmate trying her best to remain friendly towards someone whose intentions were clearly to harass her under the pretense of being interested in the club. All instinct screamed at him to at least give her an escape, but he was just as shunned as Hifumi was; it was improbable any of his attempts would have made a difference.

Thankfully, the other player gave up on the game and left. Hifumi leaned back in her seat with a disappointed sigh. Her entire body seemed to slump, wrung clean of energy. Even what little energy the shogi clubroom had was sapped by the parasite that had entered and exited.

Yusuke set his pencil down. Drawing while uninspired always yielded unsatisfactory work (But then again, when was the last time he was ever satisfied with one of his works?). “Togo.”

Hifumi jumped, her wide eyes returning to their normal size upon spotting Yusuke in the corner of the room. Her back straightened. “Oh. Good afternoon, Kitagawa. You came here to draw?”

“Yes. However…” His gaze returned to the sketchbook. “I cannot seem to find inspiration anywhere. My sketches have been a disgrace to human vision, and I won’t waste a canvas on uninspired work.”

“Well… sorry about that.”

“Thank you.” He drummed his fingers on the desk, then looked up. “You seem quite tense. Would you like a partner for a game of shogi?”

Hifumi’s shoulders didn’t relax. Instead, she leveled a suspicious look at him (which he had to admit was reasonable given his awful timing. While his talks with Ann about social norms have been immensely helpful, he also just didn’t care much for them). “... You know how to play shogi?”

“No, but perhaps I could find inspiration with a game.” He bit back a sigh upon seeing her suspicion rise. Perhaps he should offer basic courtesy. It was only right. “Though it is understandable if you don’t wish to have me as a partner.”

Hesitation crossed her face, and she looked away. The room was silent as she gathered her thoughts. “Um… alright. I suppose one game couldn’t hurt.” She picked up the shogi board and took a seat across from him. “Just a quick game. Twenty seconds per move. I’ll teach you as you go along.”

“Very well. I accept your terms.”

“I’ll start.”

 

* * *

“... So, this is your skill level?” Hifumi said, her eyebrows furrowed. “The dragon which governs the blue sky has fallen into my hands. How do you intend to survive this?”

Yusuke couldn’t say he had any clue what was happening in the game, but he gasped anyway. “Then… my silver general’s heroic sacrifice was all for naught! My army cannot sink like this.”

She moved a piece across the board with a dramatic flair. “Check!” She looked back up at him. “It’s checkmate no matter how you look at it. Please concede.”

Yusuke nodded and murmured a concession, his attention now consumed by the sketch in front of him. His hand cramped from the tight grip on his pencil he had maintained for a straight hour, but he had to finish before inspiration abandoned him. A dilapidated castle and a grand dragon poised for battle, all topped with a ruined king… the crippling sense of hopelessness, the clash between grand dreams and reality! He could see it now!

“This session seems to have been especially productive for you,” Hifumi said, a smile in her voice.

While his first game with Hifumi had lasted a whole four minutes before he was beaten, both of them had gotten carried away with Hifumi’s habit of assuming the role of a queen and thrown out the twenty-second rule to allow Yusuke to draw during the game. It was a fair exchange: Hifumi didn’t feel the need to rein in her habit, and Yusuke was given the inspiration he needed to pull himself out of an artistic slump. And if he was being honest with himself, being in the company of another person instead of isolating himself in his room was… nice, for lack of a better term. He was an artist, not a writer.

“Yes, it has been,” Yusuke said, setting his pencil down once he finished his last line. “I must thank you.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“I hope you have extracted something useful out of this as well. Or have I been a burden…?”

Hifumi blinked. “Oh, no, not at all. Would…” She looked down into her lap, her shoulders suddenly tense. “Would you like to play another game of shogi with me at the church? I don’t think this clubroom is an, um… as you would call it, inspirational place to play.”

Yusuke smiled. She picked up on his mannerisms relatively quickly, though that was probably a natural process after being someone’s classmate for a year and a half. “I don’t see why not. May I continue to work on my pieces during this?”

“Of course. I doubt I could stop you anyway…”

“You’re quite right about that.” He stood up from his seat, closing his sketchbook. “I suppose this is goodbye for now. Have a good rest of your day, Togo.”

“You as well, Kitagawa.”

As Yusuke walked down the halls of his school, he opened his sketchbook back to the page he was working on during their shogi session and smiled.

 

* * *

“My apologies, Kitagawa,” Hifumi said, setting the paintbrush down. “It seems I truly have no talent in art. Sorry for wasting your supplies.”

Yusuke raised a palm. “These are not my supplies. Both the parchment and the paints belong to the school. Trust me, I would not have allowed an inexperienced person within a meter of my actual supplies.”

“That’s… reassuring.”

Since their first match, they had begun playing shogi matches against each other once or twice a week at the church. It was evident Hifumi would win every time, but their theatrics made what was otherwise a boring game a match both of them could laugh at (or more accurately, chuckle quietly. It was still a church, after all). In fact, Yusuke began looking forward to it at the end of the day and even packed extra art supplies into his bag when he knew he would be playing a game. But while routine was comforting, it was boring.

Unlike their usual shogi match after school, Hifumi had expressed interest in attempting to paint something under his guidance. And like a true artist, he threw her into the world of art with supplies and abandoned her to the whims of her mind (which, in hindsight, was probably not the best idea. Oops). Yusuke had taken the time to finish up a project, both personal and for an assignment. His class had been asked to create a representation of the general populace, and considering the fact he had just been in Mementos the previous day…

The background of his painting was a cloudy red with formless black shapes in the foreground. Hints of silver dotted the red cloud, but other than that detail, the painting was horribly mundane, even repetitive in a way. There was objectively nothing wrong with it, but underneath all those layers of paint, was there any meaning?

On Hifumi’s paper (“Please,” she had insisted when Yusuke offered her something of higher quality, “I don’t wish to waste resources.”), clouds of gray stormed the page. She had mixed black paint with water, first painting the cloud in black then watering it down to a dark gray. From a technical standpoint, Yusuke could tell why she said she had no talent in art. But even then…

“This is your first painting since years ago, correct?” Yusuke said, framing his pointer fingers and thumbs to form a rectangle. “I would consider this the farthest thing from a failure. It appears visually displeasing to your eye because it is just that: visually displeasing. However, one’s first creation of anything will be very much mediocre compared to creations further down the line. You cannot create something out of nowhere with the expectation of greatness.” He moved the frame over to fit a bit of both the painting and Hifumi inside. “It simply comes down to practice.”

Hifumi blinked. That didn’t stop his rambling.

“Aside from that, just because a painting is visually displeasing doesn’t mean it has less value than a visually pleasing one. Many artists fail to captivate their audience on the basis their work simply doesn’t stir any emotion, for instance.” His frame moved down to capture the painting in its entirety. He could feel his words speeding up from the excitement bubbling in his throat, but there was no stopping the train once it left the station. “But you poured your soul into this, did you not? I can practically feel the emotion emanating from it. The conflict, the dissatisfaction, the  _ rebellion…  _ It’s simply amazing to see from someone with no prior experience in art.” With that, he lowered his hands and smiled. “It isn’t a bad painting, Togo. I believe one of my friends referred to such a statement as a TL;DR.”

Hifumi stared down at her painting, then looked up to shoot Yusuke a quaint smile. “You’re very passionate about art, aren’t you?”

“My life would have no meaning otherwise.”

“Um… The implications of that statement make me sad and slightly uncomfortable, but I admire the passion behind your monologue.” She paused, spinning the paintbrush between her fingers. “I can hear the love you have for art just in your voice. I can’t even begin to imagine the dedication you’ve put into your passion. It’s the reason I’ve been meaning to speak to you since our gazes kept meeting in class.”

Yusuke almost snorted at the memories, though some part of him was glad the desire to make a connection was mutual. “We still do, do we not?”

“Yes, but that’s hardly the point I’m trying to make.”

“From my observations, you are just as passionate about shogi as I am in art,” Yusuke said, propping his head on his hand. “The generous compliments you heap onto me can be applied to you as well.”

Hifumi shook her head. “My father was the true passionate shogi player. He went pro as an adult. He’s usually calm, but when he played you could really feel his spirit. He never hesitated when making a move, just like a king. I really admired him, so I began playing shogi, too.” Her fond smile faded. “But after pouring everything he had into shogi, he suddenly collapsed one day. My mother had to quit her job as a local TV announcer to take care of him. In her eyes, shogi stole both her dream and her husband. And yet, she tells me to keep playing… she wants me to achieve her dreams.”

Well, that conversation took a turn for the worst. Yusuke frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t quite follow you on that last sentence. Will you elaborate?”

“You’re aware of my photo shoots and interviews, correct?”

“Yes.”

“They’re… quite difficult for me to do, but my mother keeps setting them up for me to turn me into the idol she was robbed of being.” Hifumi sighed, a tinge of sadness speckling her tone.

“I don’t see why you shouldn’t stop. There is no point continuing an activity if it makes you this miserable.”

A fleeting smile flickered on her lips before fading like a light. “I’m happy that you’re so concerned about me. But when I think about my mother, I…” She shuffled her feet, her shoulders tensing like a great burden had been placed on it. And indeed it had been. “I want to become a professional so that I can ease my parents’ burden. The interviews and photoshoots add to our household income, so I can tolerate it for now.”

“Togo.”

“Sorry for spilling my problems onto you. You certainly don’t need to listen.”

From what Yusuke had observed during his matches with Hifumi, her passion for shogi went far above and beyond the average player, even beyond a professional. Her heart went into every action she took, every word she said. He could practically see the excitement crackling through her fingers as she moved a piece. The image of Hifumi playing shogi was a picture worth much more than a thousand words and one he couldn’t hope to replicate with his own artistic abilities. She was lying to both him and herself, and Yusuke found it hit too close to home.

“Togo,” Yusuke called again. His eyes flickered to meet her questioning gaze before darting back to the painting. “This may not mean much to you coming from me, but I think you resemble your father greatly.”

Hifumi fell silent, staring down at her own painting. Just when Yusuke prepared to leave the art room and never show his face in class again, she said quietly, “It means the world to me.”

 

* * *

“Vanguard of my Togo Kingdom… go forth to the front lines! Trample upon them all!” Hifumi commanded, her voice hushed but firm.

“Esteemed silver general,” Yusuke said, “go forth onto the battlefield. Your king relies on your bravery!”

“You think to protect yourself with that paltry defense? Hahaha… It’s useless!”

“Is this a provocation from the Togo Kingdom? Is this a declaration of war?”

“Indeed it is. I declared war four centuries ago.” She moved a piece, her hair moving with her dramatic movement. “Awaken, dragon! Let your shadowy hellfire consume them all! Dark Interno Rock!”

Their conversation and match went back and forth until Hifumi emerged as the winner once more.

“An exhilarating battle,” Yusuke breathed. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

Hifumi rubbed the back of her neck and looked down. “Are you certain this habit doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would it? The oddities, for lack of a better word, of our matches are a candle compared to the wildfire that I’ve witnessed these past few months.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I’m curious as to why you are hesitant to display this side of yourself.”

“Well…” She shuffled her feet and looked down at the hands in her lap. “My father had me do image training exercises when I was younger to help me learn the rules. I gradually began to view the shogi board as if it was my own kingdom. I had fun coming up with stories and strategies for my, um, subjects. However…” Her head bowed lower. “I’ve heard that people make fun of me on the Internet. People think I’m weird, or that I’m an otaku, or that I’m just crazy.” She shook her head and sighed. “I mean, I can’t blame them. Certainly, I think I’m weird, too. And I can’t blame you if you think I’m weird.”

Right. He had almost forgotten while Hifumi was his classmate, she was also a renown shogi player. It was natural she would care for her reputation. But at the same time…

“Why do you care so much?” Yusuke asked.

“Huh?”

That was a rash thing to say. If she were here, Makoto would certainly have reprimanded him for saying such a thing. Ryuji must be rubbing off on him. Still, he continued. “Are you not a nationally ranked shogi player?”

“I am.”

“Then as with any field, there will be people who are jealous of you, who hate you for no reason other than their hearts are filled with hatred,” Yusuke said. He certainly had his own experiences with them. “But you’re doing much better than them, yes? From what I’ve seen, you have a much brighter future ahead of you than anyone who chooses to go online for the express purpose of demeaning a student. I’d hazard saying their opinions don’t matter.”

“I… don’t think life quite works that way. I’m not the person you think I am,” Hifumi said, her voice quiet. Still, she lifted her head and smiled. “But thank you. I’ve always wondered how you allowed rumours to roll off your back so easily.”

Yusuke blinked. That was something to be admired? “I assure you, it’s nothing special. I’m sure it’s achievable by anyone, especially someone well-versed in logic like you.”

“Maybe it’s nothing to you, but…” She shrugged. “I may be able to learn more from our matches than I thought. For now, however, I have an interview scheduled for tonight, so that was our last match of the day.” She stood up from her seat with the shogi board in her arms. “Until tomorrow. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Their kingdoms came to an end with that final word. Yusuke stared at the sketch he had made, his gaze running across the page as he analyzed the dragon on it for any anatomical errors. After deciding there were none (not that they would have made sense anyway. As far as he knew, dragons didn’t exist), he closed his sketchbook.

Maybe he would have to bring that sketch to life on a canvas. But did he have the money to afford one for such trivial use?

No. It wasn’t trivial.

He recalculated his finances in his head as he walked home.

 

* * *

Yusuke would say today’s mission of not starving to death was a success even with some passerbyers giving him weird stares. It had taken a while, but he had managed to pluck a handful of bean sprouts from around Tsukishima. That should be enough to keep him from fainting for at least a full day. The smart move would be to go home immediately to cook them for maximum nutrition. But did he have enough train fare…? His card  _ had _ been acting up after Futaba had taken it from him for a day, though usually for the better.

“Kitagawa?”

Ah. Nevermind, then.

Yusuke turned around, locking eyes with the person who had called his name. “Good afternoon, Togo. I haven’t seen you around Tsukishima before.”

“This is only my second time here,” Hifumi said with a shrug. “What brings you here?”

“The supermarket near our high school was unexpectedly closed, so I came here to collect dinner.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Collect dinner…?” She looked him up and down before her horrified gaze fell on the bean sprouts in his hand. “Kitagawa, please don’t tell me you intend to eat bean sprouts you picked from the ground for dinner.”

Yusuke frowned. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

Her face paled, and she took a deep breath. The color slowly returned to her face. “You… aren’t in the habit of asking for help, are you?”

It was a strange question, but he answered honestly nevertheless. “No. I find I don’t like being in debt to others.”

“Ah, right. Since the Mada—” She cut herself off and shook her head. “No, I shouldn’t say that.” Instead, she fixed her gaze on him. “Would you like to join me for dinner at one of the monjayaki restaurants here? It’s my treat.”

“Are you certain?” Yusuke asked, blinking. The rational part of his mind told him he should spare himself the future debt and head home, but his stomach had other thoughts, on top of the fact he didn’t think she would allow him to leave with just a handful of questionably edible bean sprouts.

“Yes. It’s the least I could do.” Hifumi carefully eyed the bean sprouts in his hand. “And… could you please throw that away?”

“I am forever in your debt,” Yusuke said as he reluctantly tossed the beans in a nearby garbage can.

“Don’t say that.”

“Very well. I will think it instead.”

Hifumi furrowed her eyebrows, mouth opening to scold him before she caught a flicker of playfulness flashing in his eyes. A giggle escaped her lips. “You’re quite odd, Kitagawa.”

Yusuke smiled back. “You as well, Togo.”

“I find it unbelievable I like to spend time with you.”

“The feeling is reciprocated.”

The two walked along the streets of Tsukishima, giving voice to whatever thought crossed their minds. This time, there was no activity bonding them together other than what felt like a semblance of friendship.

 

* * *

“Ah, before I forget,” Yusuke said in the middle of another shogi match at the church. He reached into his bag and handed a plastic bag to Hifumi.

“Huh?” Hifumi took the bag, running her fingers along the edges of the object inside. “Is this…?”

“Don’t feel obligated to see what it is now. But of course, if you would like to, taking it out won’t harm it in any way.”

Hifumi carefully took the object out of the plastic bag and fell silent upon seeing what was painted on it.

She held a small, square canvas in her hand, something that could reasonably fit into a grocery store bag as he had chosen. Thin brush strokes were carefully painted onto the canvas. The colorful paints clashed with the dark, bold paint making up the dragon. An impression of a queen stood by the dragon’s side, pointing as if she were giving a command. Dark fire spewed out of the dragon’s mouth. The entire painting leaned on the abstract side, but the figures were clear enough that she could make out what the scene was supposed to portray.

Hifumi held a hand to her heart and smiled, her eyes shimmering. She handed the painting back. “This is an absolutely beautiful painting, Kitagawa. I wouldn’t have expected any less from you.”

“Thank you.” Yusuke’s eyes flickered down at the canvas. “Do you not want to keep it?”

“I can keep it?”

“It was created to be a gift for you, after all.”

The shimmer in Hifumi’s eyes brightened. She carefully set the painting next to her bag before wrapping her arms around him, pulling him closer. “Thank you. Words can’t express how grateful I am.”

Yusuke couldn’t help but smile even through his confusion. “It was the least I could do. But… why are you pressing your body against mine?”

“... It’s a hug.” Her hold lightened. “Is it unpleasant?”

Yusuke pondered the feeling of a hug before wrapping his arms around her as well. As unfamiliar as it was, the touch of another human being was… comfortable, even nice. “No. Thank you for enlightening me.”

Giggles erupted through Hifumi’s body, and she pulled away, wiping a tear off her face as she laughed.

“Togo, are you alright?”

“Yes, I just… Give me a moment.” She doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach. Even with the side-eyes from other church attendees, she couldn’t stop herself.

Her laughter was contagious. Yusuke found himself partaking in the laughter as well, a pleasant departure from the rare light chuckle he had allowed himself to express once in a while.

The two continued laughing even after being asked to leave the church for noise disturbance.

 

* * *

Of everything Yusuke could have predicted he would hear as soon as he stepped into the church, the words “Please tell me we don’t have an exam next week” wasn’t even on the list.

Yusuke blinked. “My apologies, I believe I didn’t hear you correctly.”

He and Hifumi had spent the better part of the last few months playing shogi and drawing together, most sessions ending in casual conversation about whatever they had seen at school that day or them falling into companionable silence. It almost felt as if they were… friends? Acquaintances? Co-sufferers? He hadn’t ever thought about putting a name to their relationship until now.

“Please tell me we don’t have an exam next week,” Hifumi repeated, her expression defeated, like she had already accepted her fate. “I was focused on my shogi matches. I hadn’t noticed the passage of time until I overheard one of our classmates discussing an exam.”

Yusuke tried to stretch his mind to what his teachers had said for the past couple of weeks. Did any of them mention an exam of any sort? The closest he could recall was his art teacher inserting something about an exam in the middle of a lecture about…

Oh.

Oh no.

Yusuke gulped. “I… I believe we have one coming up soon, if not next week.”

Hifumi sighed, even more despair looming over her shoulders. “Ah. I see. Thank you for the information, but I suppose we’ll both want to study instead of playing shogi.”

“... Would you like to study together?”

“Huh?”

It seemed Akira’s habit of not thinking before deciding on taking action (Did that habit start with Akira or Ryuji? He hadn’t the faintest idea) had rubbed off on Yusuke as well, because he certainly hadn’t had a single thought before those words escaped his mouth. Still, he stood by his words. “I’ve always interpreted the phrase ‘two heads are better than one’ as meaning cooperating with another person achieves more than trying to tackle a task alone. Of course, there are many exceptions to this saying, such as too many people trying to plan a party, or so I’ve been told. There is also another saying that conflicts with this that I heard—”

“Yusuke.”

Yusuke stopped.

Hifumi smiled. “We’re friends. Studying with you would be an honor.”

An outstanding smile. He decided he needed to capture that on paper rather than the forlorn expression on his previous portrait of her. Of course, that could wait until after exams were over.

“... You are much too generous, Hifumi,” Yusuke said. “Are you certain?”

“Yes.” She stood up from her seat and packed her shogi board into her bag. “Would you like to accompany me to Jinbocho? I know a small bookstore that has the perfect atmosphere for studying.”

Yusuke stood up as well and reciprocated her smile. “That would be delightful. Thank you for the invitation.”

As the two exited the church and Hifumi outlined their study plans, Yusuke couldn’t help but wonder when they had transitioned to using each other’s first names.

 

* * *

It turned out studying at the Nagiuri Bookstore had transitioned to quizzing each other on random subjects at the curry restaurant nearby after Yusuke insisted he shouldn’t eat a meal he didn’t pay for and Hifumi countered by ordering him a plate of curry anyway, her gaze almost challenging him to push it away. Predictably, he didn’t.

Yusuke swallowed the spoonful of curry he had eaten before asking, “What is the name of this ratio that Japanese architects and artists have liked using?”

Hifumi looked slightly pained. “Um… the silver ratio?”

“That is correct. Though with the uncertainty you portrayed during that answer, you may wish to spend some individual time studying subjects outside of math and science.”

“Noted. What was the name of the gentleman thief whose family was boiled alive during the Sengoku period?”

“Ishikawa Goemon.” The name rolled off his tongue naturally.

“That is correct.” She paused. “You’ve gotten every single question about Goemon correct. Would you prefer I ask you about other subjects?”

Yusuke bit back an amused smile. He could practically hear Goemon laughing. “That would be preferable, yes, but I believe it’s my turn.”

Hifumi opened her mouth to respond, then she closed it. A cloud seemed to fall over her as she shrunk in her seat. “Give me a moment, please.”

Yusuke followed her gaze to see an almond-eyed woman glaring daggers at them from a booth across the room. While her danger level while in a public place like this was at a minimum, his months of training as a Phantom Thief had improved his quick decision-making skills, and he decided while she wasn’t a danger now, he didn’t want to risk the situation escalating when they stepped outside. 

He narrowed his eyes.

The woman caught his gaze, then looked away.

Yusuke’s expression returned to his usual stony face as Hifumi sighed and turned back to him.

“... Sorry,” Hifumi said, “She was only glaring at you because you’re with me.”

“Who was that?” Yusuke asked.

“She’s my senior. I defeated her in a recent title match.” Her lips tugged down into a frown. “The truth is… I’m not very well liked by my seniors. The more attention I get, the more enemies I make, and the more lies are spread about me… I’m sure you’ve heard some around campus.”

Yusuke nodded, though he admittedly didn’t pay much attention to anything outside the art world. Something about being a phony princess…?

“Perhaps it’s odd to compare myself to them, but… I wonder if it’s the same for the Phantom Thieves.”

His interest was piqued.

“People are so divided about them on the Internet. Some love them, while others hate them. I can’t help but see similarities between us.” Her eyes fell on him. “I can see similarities between you and me, too.”

Yusuke blinked. He hadn’t been expecting to hear that at any point in his life. “Oh. Would you care to elaborate?”

“Um… please don’t take this the wrong way, but both of us are kind of… pushed to the side by our classmates, right? Me for all those… unsavory rumours and you for…”

“Being myself, as one of my friends so eloquently put it?” Yusuke chuckled.

“Actually, I was going to say something about the scandal with Madarame…”

Yusuke’s blood went cold at the name. Memories came flooding back into his head.

Hifumi froze, her eyes wide. “I wasn’t supposed to say that, was I? I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve become more talkative as of late. I usually don’t talk this much.”

“How much do you know?”

“U-Um… not much, to be honest. All I know was he was stealing his pupils’ works and passing them off as his own. I was curious about that since I first started talking to you.”

“Curious about what?”

“Well… are you okay?”

Yusuke whipped around to face her, only to see Hifumi twiddling her fingers but her expression still determined.

“I know there’s a flood of people who have asked you what happened, but… I’ve never heard anyone ask you if you were okay. And I was worried since everyone knew you lived with Madarame and…” She trailed off, her confidence waning as she continued. Her eyebrows were furrowed in worry, and she looked away. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken.”

“No, it’s…” His throat tightened as he scrambled to find his next words. What was it that could describe the emotions bubbling up in his throat and threatening to spill over? Appreciative? Elated? Even safe?

It then occurred to him that his emotions couldn’t be summed up in a single word. No, it was a specific combination of emotions that rushed over him when he would confide in Akira or Ryuji took him out for beef bowls or Ann assisted him in shopping for paints. It was even similar to when Makoto pestered him about his grades out of worry or Futaba pestered him just because he was there or Haru asked for his help catching pests in her garden. It was the feeling of friendship, of being cared for by people who had absolutely no reason to care. While it wasn’t a new feeling, it was still an overwhelming tidal wave of emotions after years of solitude.

“I… Thank you,” Yusuke said, being careful to not allow his voice to crack. “May I confide in you a bit?”

Hifumi turned her full attention to him and offered him a gentle smile. “Of course. Take as much time as you need.”

“Madarame was a criminal, but he was also a parental figure for the majority of my life. That being said, he is absolutely irredeemable and should never be allowed to interact with the public again.” He hesitated. They both already knew this. Should he open the floodgates that held back his struggles that remained hidden? Hifumi had done the same earlier to some extent, but…

They were friends. Close friends, he would define at this point. If he couldn’t open up to her, he wouldn’t be able to open up to anyone.

Yusuke continued despite the boulder settling in his stomach. “Since that incident, I’ve been… stuck in an art block. Flashes of inspiration came to me like the painting I gifted to you, but like flicking a lighter, only sparks come out and nothing is set ablaze. Nothing seems satisfactory to me. That painting I created when we first painted together in the art room… I submitted it. Critics and patrons alike criticized it for being emotionless and stale. It makes me wonder… Have I lost sight of what my art should be about? Am I doomed to follow in Madarame’s footsteps?”

“Absolutely not.”

He hadn’t intended to stop there, but the firmness of her tone was enough for him to fall silent as she continued to speak.

“You are not Madarame and you never will be,” Hifumi said, her hold on her spoon tightening. “It chills me to my core that you could believe such a thing, and it makes me despise him even more for leading you to that conclusion. I recognize I’m not the right person for this conversation. I can’t tell you what you need to hear, but… you have friends. You’re not alone. If we see you slipping to the same weaknesses Madarame did, we will pull you out with all the strength we have. Isn’t that what being friends entails?” After a period of silence, she cleared her throat. “That is all I can say, unfortunately. You can choose to believe me or not.”

Yusuke stared down at his hands as he pondered her words.

There was nothing wrong with Hifumi’s words, nothing he could deny or dismiss. The revelation was a strange feeling, but perhaps stepping outside his comfort zone was a step he always needed to take but hesitated to do so by himself. But with friends by his side…

“And… And remember you can always confide in me,” Hifumi said. She gulped, then her voice lowered as if she were afraid he would hear her. “I think you’re the first friend I’ve made outside of the shogi community. You might even be my best friend.”

He didn’t know what to say to that or what emotion he was supposed to feel, but his heart felt like it had shattered. He had always viewed Hifumi as someone sociable, yet she had been lonely for the better part of her high school life. When he adjusted the lense he viewed her with, he could see the same thing he saw in himself: a lonely, isolated individual who didn’t know how to handle suddenly not being alone.

“If I may say something so blunt,” Yusuke said, “you’re the only friend I’ve made without the aid of sheer coincidence. You are a fascinating human being, Hifumi. I… relish being your friend.”

“Yusuke…” Hifumi’s gaze dropped to the plate of curry in front of her. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“And you as well.”

The two stayed silent for a while, thinking.

Hifumi broke the silence first. “This feels sudden, but… may I confide in you, too? I feel I can finally trust you with this.”

“Absolutely.”

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She bit her lip as if she didn’t want to speak. “Do you remember what I told you about my mother and how she sets up my interviews and photoshoots?”

“Yes.”

“I have a match against a professional shogi player coming up, and she… she wants me to lose the match.”

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. Yusuke’s hand tensed. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a ‘strategy’ she devised. She says that if I lose to a man, I’ll get sympathy from women, and as a result get more female fans. Then when I make my comeback, I’ll become a symbol for strong women everywhere. That way, I can use the weekly magazine’s popularity against them and instantly become famous. I don’t want to go with this plan, but she is not above rigging my matches. I’m afraid I have no choice in the matter.” Her voice cracked. “I understand if you feel disappointed that the rumors are partly true. You can leave now if you wish.”

Yusuke reached out and took her hand, squeezing firmly. He would not leave.

It seemed Hifumi had taken the hint, as she continued. “No one sees me as a shogi player, not even my own mother. She said that there’s no need for me to be putting so much time and effort into shogi and that once I become famous, I can quit shogi and make money from my looks.”

“And I assume that is not the path you wish to follow.”

“Not in the slightest.” Her eyes narrowed into an intense glare, and her grip on him tightened. “Losing on purpose is wrong! Even if it helped me to become famous and ease my parents’ burden, I don’t want to turn my back on shogi, a game that both my father and I love…” 

There was no easy way out of this. If Hifumi’s primary concern was easing her family’s burden financially, this plan would achieve that instantly. On top of that, not following her mother’s scheme would be a betrayal against her mother. Who could betray their own parent like that?

… Yusuke did. And Hifumi could.

“If this is a cause of great distress to you,” Yusuke said, “let us change her mind.”

Hifumi sighed. “If only that were possible. She’s the type of woman who never changes her mind. She wants to achieve her unfulfilled dream of becoming a celebrity… through me. I highly doubt she would ever reconsider.”

There was a clear desire. All he needed was a name.

“What is your mother’s name?” Yusuke asked.

“It’s… Mitsuyo Togo. I don’t see how that’s relevant to this conversation.”

Mission unlocked.

Hifumi checked the time on her phone. “We should probably start heading home now. The trains stop running soon.” She eyed him suspiciously. “You do have enough money for the train, right?”

Yusuke nodded. He figured that was easier than trying to explain his suspicions of his friend messing with city infrastructure like it was a toy. He released her hand and offered her a small wave. “Until tomorrow in class.”

She nodded as well, a sad shimmer in her eyes. “Until tomorrow.”

 

* * *

**[15:31] Yusuke:** I am aware we have agreed to take a break from exploring Mementos for today. However, this is urgent.  
 **[15:32] Ryuji:** What’s up?  
 **[15:32] Ann:** Is something wrong?  
 **[15:32] Makoto:** That’s… concerning.  
 **[15:32] Futaba:** Huh?  
 **[15:32] Haru:** Are you alright?  
 **[15:32] Akira:** What happened?  
 **[15:34] Yusuke:** … Your timings are perfectly synched, as always.   
**[15:34] Yuruke:** But nevermind that.  
 **[15:35]** **Yusuke:** I have a request for a friend I would like to fulfill as soon as possible. Please meet me at Leblanc immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> first time writing in this fandom and i havent even finished the game yet but i was sick of squinting at this document for a week so here you go. thanks for reading!


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